


Killing Your Darling

by DoucheMcBagger



Category: Linked Universe (Legend of Zelda) - Fandom, Linked Universe - Fandom, The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms
Genre: Angst, Descriptions of Injury, Everything's okay in the end, For everyone that has read my previous stuff, Hurt/Comfort, I am also sorry for what I have done, I am sorry for what I have done, I'm a slut for Wild's Champion abilities, It's a fun time, Mipha's Grace, descriptions of death, for Everyone else, i guess?, it's a fun fic, mentions of vomit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-16
Updated: 2019-12-16
Packaged: 2021-02-26 04:47:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,358
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21817642
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DoucheMcBagger/pseuds/DoucheMcBagger
Summary: Wild falls from a tree and isn't waking up any time soon. Twilight is stuck with his unconscious friend alone, without healing items, and with only one option.
Relationships: Twilight & Wild (Linked Universe)
Comments: 9
Kudos: 404





	Killing Your Darling

**Author's Note:**

> So I uh... I got drunk and was like "Lemme write something short and cute between Wild and Twilight!" and then this happened, and here we are.
> 
> I am so sorry.

The shift had thrown them all apart. It wasn’t as big of a deal for Twilight. He was able to shift to his wolfen form and find them easily. Most of the time he was able to find them easily... This time, the only one he’d been able to find was Wild. That hadn’t even been thanks to heightened his senses. 

The other hero had fallen out of a tree with the loudest yelp that Twilight had ever heard. If any of the others had been remotely close they would have arrived not long after Twilight himself. It seemed, however, that there was a very vast distance between all of them this time because an hour later, Wild and Twilight still sat underneath the tree where he had found the champion. 

To say Wild’s fall had been disastrous would be an understatement. Normally, Wild would have pulled supplies from his Sheikah Slate to fix himself up, but this time he was unable to really move. The yelp that Twilight had heard was the sound of the other Link slamming his head on the ground. There wasn’t any blood, but Wild’s eyes had a hard time focusing. Every time he moved his head slightly his body would jerk in pain. Moving at all didn’t seem to be an option at this point. The most he had moved was when Twilight turned him on his side after he had muttered something about being sick. The process of emptying the contents of his stomach promptly after had caused Wild to pass out.

And Twilight was terrified. He wasn’t sure whether or not it would be safe to move him. He couldn’t leave Wild alone out here in the open to go find the others or any help at all, and he himself didn’t carry many supplies. The small vial that had contained his health potion had been drained not long before they shifted realms.

His gaze shot up the tree for what was probably the hundredth time. The thing was massive. What had Wild even been doing climbing it--getting the lay of the land, or trying to snag some more food for his stockpile? Twilight still wasn’t sure. He was hoping his companion had simply been trying to get higher to try to catch sight of any of the others or find any landmarks, and not that he almost killed himself trying to get yet another acorn he didn’t need. 

Twilight scratched at the edges of his fingernails--at the dry, calloused skin there--in an attempt to relieve some of his anxiety. As his picked lightly at his skin, he stared down at Wild’s unconscious form. His heart, which had already been tightly clenched, sank more. The champion had definitely paled in their time under the boughs of the tree. Twilight had already tried using the Sheikah Slate, but the technology was lost on him. He had hopelessly scrolled and tapped away only to receive no results. He couldn’t do anything but sit here and wait for Wild to either get better or die. 

He felt sick. The stench of Wild’s own sickness hadn’t helped his anxiety induced nausea earlier, and at that time he had almost lost his lunch. Now--having seen how delicately Wild’s life likely hung in the balance--the sensation crashed back into him even worse than before. Twilight swallowed roughly and with a shaking hand, moved to run his fingertips over Wild’s hair. He didn’t dare to apply any pressure lest he make the champion’s condition worsen. He just needed to touch him--to assure himself that Wild was still there. 

Twilight couldn’t bear the thought of continuing in without Wild. He enjoyed being around the others, but, without Wild there, the whole experience would just feel hollow. It would just become going numbly through the motions until the quest was over and then… What? 

What would he have after it was over? 

He moved his hand away from Wild and looked away. Tears welled in his eyes. He let out a half-choked sob. He’d have the ranch in Ordon and Epona, but he would be alone. Ilia would always be there for him, but he hated himself whenever he was around her. After his time with Midna, he just didn’t care for her like he used to. He felt like he should, but Twilight always found himself seeing her as more of a sibling now. He knew that she didn’t see him that way, and it just filled him to the brim with guilt. 

It occurred to him that the thought of Midna didn’t make his heart wrench. Now that he thought about it--his heart had been still whenever he thought about her not long after he started traveling with Wild and the others. Perhaps they brought the comfort he needed to move on. If that were the case, a big part of that comfort might now be gone. Twilight dug his fingers into the dirt beside himself out of a desire the exert some of his nervous energy.

He didn’t know if he could handle this. The loss of the main source of his comfort. The person he cared for the most deeply. He didn’t know if he could handle Wild being gone. The two of them had gotten so close. Twilight could name the quirks of every facial expression that his protege made--what made them so inexplicably  _ Wild _ . His fellow Link knew how to cheer him up and when something was bothering without even asking. When he first started actually talking around the others, Twilight had been more elated than he could recall being in his life.

Maybe it was their sharing of the Hero’s Spirit that had brought the two of them so close together, but Twilight thought as he sat now by Wild’s still form, that it may be something more. The two of them shared a deep connection as protege and mentor. It seemed deeper than that even. Wild had become like a son to him. His heart ached more at not being able to help him in this moment than it had ever seemed to with Midna’s departure or Ilia's capture. 

Distress flooded every part of his being, and he pushed himself up from his seat on the ground. He needed to move--to run, to get away from all the nervous energy coiling within him. He needed to go and get something to _ fix _ this. As he moved to walk forward, it reoccurred to him that he couldn’t just leave Wild there alone. The ranch hand let out a long groan of frustration and anguish before plopping himself back down into the dirt and leaves.

* * *

It had been hours. The sun was falling below the horizon, and Twilight had no choice but to admit defeat. If Wild wasn’t waking up soon, he likely wasn’t going to wake up for a long time if he ever did. A few hours in, he had remembered Mipha’s Grace. Out in a Hyrule they didn’t know, with a head injury that was likely too serious to care for, there weren’t many options. There wasn’t a way for Twilight to heal him and waiting around for Wild to die on his own from the wound would prolong the Champion’s suffering--and possibly put both their lives at risk. 

Twilight stood shakily to his feet. Tears formed in his eyes as the full realization as to what he was about to do set in. He choked out a sob. 

“I’m sorry,” he whispered. 

With trembling hands, Twilight unsheathed his blade. The sword seemed heavier now in his grasp than it ever had in the past. No amount of obligation or duty weighed on him as much as this did. He wouldn’t really die--not truly. Wild would be healed even! But it didn’t change that Twilight would have to live with the memory of killing him with his own hands. As he readied the sword in his grasp and raised the blade over his head, he knew this moment would haunt him for the rest of his life. He wanted nothing more than to shut his eyes, so the vision of it wouldn’t be ingrained in his mind. If he did that though, he could miss Wild’s heart, and it could take him much longer to die. So instead he stared down at the point on his companion’s chest where his blow would land true, and with more force than necessary, he slammed the blade home. 

The sight of the Ordonian blade buried in Wild’s chest, with blood beginning to spill from the site of impact, staining the blue tunic, burned into Twilight’s mind. He briefly watched as Wild’s body convulsed as his heart failed him. Twilight yanked the blade free and let if fall to the ground. Numbly, he dropped to his knees and shuffled closer to Wild. Tears rapidly flowed from his eyes and down his face. Gently, he reached out and pulled the dying hero onto his lap. His tears dripped onto Wild’s face, and he leaned down to kiss his forehead. A whine of pain escaped Twilight’s throat as he choked back a stuttering breath. 

Then, Wild’s body began to glow as a swirling blue light encircled him. The image of a small female Zora appeared above him with a gently spoken, “It was my pleasure.” As the light faded so did the hole in Wild’s chest. A gasp shot from the prone man, and his eyes flew open. 

His face was masked in confusion as he tried to recall where he was and what had happened. As the realization that he’d been revived set in, his gaze focused on the flushed face above him. His eyebrows drew together in concern, and a frown spread its way across his face. Gingerly, he reached up a hand to press against’s Twilight’s cheek. Another tear fell and splashed against his face. He blinked up at the other man in confusion. How had he died this time?

“What happened?” he asked quietly. Twilight seemed to choke on his breath as Wild’s question reached him. Wild moved his fingers to wipe some of the tears from the eye his hand rested beneath. “Hey... I’m okay,” he reassured, his voice not coming above a whisper. Twilight had seen him get healed by Mipha before, and, while he was always shaken, he had never become this undone by it. In fact, he’d never seen Twilight so shaken. 

Twilight in turn, started shifting him to pull him into a crushing embrace. He gripped tightly at the back of Wild’s head, burying it into his shoulder. The bridge of Wild’s nose was crushed into his collar bone, but he pushed his discomfort aside to wrap his arms around the ranch-hand. Twilight’s fingers carded their way into his long locks, but stayed there instead of stroking through. He gripped at Wild as if he thought letting go would result in him fading away. 

“It’s okay,” Wild soothed, rubbing lightly up and down Twilight’s back. “I’m okay. I’m right here. I’m not going anywhere.”

Eventually the tears and sobs subsided, and Twilight relaxed his grip. Wild pushed back lightly to lift his face and look into his mentor’s eyes. His eyes searched him for any indication that he was willing to speak on what happened. There wasn’t any sign of emotion on his face. Twilight had seemed to have gone numb. 

“You wanna talk about it?” the champion asked gently. He shifted to where he was sitting in front of Twilight rather than pulled across his lap. Carefully, he reached out and began to wipe tears away from Twilight’s swollen eyes and flushed face--not quite sure what else to do for his friend. 

The answer he received was a shake of the head and a dropping of the shoulders. Twilight dropped his gaze to the sword laying on the ground not far from his thigh. Wild’s gaze flicked to it and saw the tip was covered in glistening blood. Wild reached over to it to pull it to him and clean it for his friend--since he was so despondent at the moment, but Twilight’s hand reached out and grasped his wrist--halting his movement. 

“I’ll take care of it,” his mentor muttered hoarsely, and began shifting to get up and rummage through his pack in an attempt to find the cloth he usually cleaned his sword with. It didn’t take him long to find it, but it was long enough for Wild to examine the blood pattern. 

Whatever Twilight had harmed, he’d very clearly stabbed. The blade was clean outside of the tip which was coated in a few inches of blood, which started to slough off the edges and onto the ground below. His eyes flicked around them. There was no sign of any skirmish. Nothing. Part of Wild’s mind flared in alarm, and he glanced down at his chest. His tunic was ripped and stained with blood above his heart. 

Oh.

Twilight had begun to clean his sword with his back to Wild. He missed the moment of realization cross his protege’s face, and for that, Wild was more thankful than anything. He knew he couldn’t play dumb forever, but the horror of him realizing what Twilight had done would likely throw the ranch hand back into uncontrolled panic. With a mild struggle, Wild reigned his face back under control. His eyes flicked around as he tried to remember what had happened to him. 

The last thing he remembered, he’d been climbing. He’d been climbing the tree beside them, actually, so whatever happened he hadn’t moved afterwards. Wild kept trying to recall--to get any semblance of why Twilight would have stabbed _ him. _ His gaze flicked up the tree, and that’s when he spotted it. There was a small hollow that brought the memory back in a flash. 

He’d been climbing at a steady rate, when all of a sudden, a bird shot out of the hollow and directly into his face. He’d been so startled that his grip slipped, and Wild plummeted head-first from the tree. Everything after that was hazy. He thought he remembered Twilight arriving and then rolling him onto his side, and… he glanced over to his left--yup, he had vomited. After that there was nothing. As far as he could recall, the sun had still been high in the sky at that time though, and now it was almost set. 

How long had they lain there? How long had Twilight sat and worried over him? Had there really been no other way to heal him? There must have been no other option, or Twilight wouldn’t have done that to him… Right? Twilight never let him use Mipha’s Grace lightly, so he doubted that the other hero would have done it on a simple whim. He must not have been able to access the Sheikah Slate. 

He became aware of Twilight’s eyes on him at the sound of the Ordonian blade sliding back into is sheath. The other hero was just staring at him, slightly pale. It was then that Wild realized, as he had been thinking, his hand had unconsciously risen up and was playing at the frayed, stained edges of the hole in his shirt. 

So Twilight knew he was aware and was afraid of the consequences? Wild shifted to get to his feet as well. 

“It’s okay,” he soothed once more, hands splayed in front of himself. “I uh... I probably would have done it myself if I hadn’t been able to move, so... uh... thanks.”

Twilight seemed stunned, but nodded regardless. His face regained a bit of color, but his gaze dropped as guilt surged through his body.

Wild gingerly stepped into his space. He worried at his lip with his teeth. He put his hands on both of Twilight’s shoulders in an attempt to get his mentor’s attention back on him. Twilight’s gaze flicked up, his eyelids were heavy with sorrow and regret. He opened his mouth to speak, but Wild beat him to it. 

“I would have done the same thing for myself,” he reaffirmed, “and I’m so sorry you had to do it…” 

Wild pulled him into another strong embrace. Twilight hugged him back just as strongly. The pair of them stood, wrapped in each other for a while before pulling back. Silently, Wild began pulling out the items he needed to start a fire and cook. 

“We should find the others,,,” Twilight muttered as he watched Wild begin shifting through his ingredients in his Sheikah Slate. 

The response he received was a simple hum as Wild continued to find his desired items. Once he got to the right page, he set down the slate and went about lighting the fire. He struck the flint once, and sparks flew onto the little pile of kindling he had laid out. Wild made a pinhole with his forefingers and thumbs, brought it up to his lips, and blew into the embers. The fire fully started, and he began to lay pieces of wood around it in a tent-shape. 

Clearly, he didn’t intend on moving any time soon. Twilight wasn’t sure if they were actually going to camp for the night, or if Wild just wanted to cook something for some reason. With the fire roaring to life, Wild placed the stand and wok over it. Twilight sighed and sat down at the fire beside him. 

“What’s for dinner?” he asked quietly. 

Another hum. 

“Really? That’s my favorite!” Twilight nudged his protege as he reached for the slate. 

Instead of responding, Wild produced the items he was going to cook. It was simply a container of milk and a little bit of honey. Twilight cocked his eyebrows as he watched Wild empty them into the cooking vessel. The other Link didn’t simmer the milk long before pulling the pot from the fire and spooning the warmed, sweetened milk into a wooden mug that he had produced. He held it out to Twilight.

Twilight stared at him for a moment. He did all that setup just to make him a mug of warmed milk? He blinked at his protege before a laugh overtook him. It started as a small chuckle, but soon it overtook him, and Twilight was leaning over--a hand across his stomach while the other supported his upper half on the ground. This was exactly the reason that adventuring with Wild had taken the sting of Midna’s departure away. The kid was kind to a fault despite his chaotic nature, and he cared about Twilight so much that, when he should be reeling from being killed, he made a treat for the man who had harmed him just a little earlier. He was ridiculous, and he was so very  _ Wild. _

Wild seemed flustered by his laughter and pulled the mug back to himself, blushing in his embarrassment. Twilight quickly moved to reassure him, despite the laughs still sneaking from his chest. He wrapped one hand around the mug, and placed the other hand on the other Link’s shoulder. 

“Thank you,” he smiled. “Really... Thank you.”

The smile he received in response was so genuine and gentle it was almost blinding. To think that crooked smile almost hadn’t been there anymore. It made Twilight’s heart sink once again to think about it. His own smile relaxed, and he moved to take the mug from Wild’s hands. It left them easily, and he raised the mug to his lips. The drink was warm and sweet, and it eased Twilight’s mood as well as alcohol. 

They sat in silence. Twilight occasionally sipping at the warm milk, while Wild cleaned the wok and stowed his supplies back into the Sheikah Slate. After everything was put away, Twilight cleared his throat. 

“I’m... really glad I got to meet you,” he smiled, staring at the fire rather than his protege.

Wild blinked at him in surprise for a moment before a smile spread across his lips once more. “I’m really glad I got to meet you too.”

**Author's Note:**

> Like I said, I was drunk when I started writing this, so none of it was as planned out as my fics usually are. I wasn't sure what I was doing for the ending, so sorry if it wasn't really satisfactory.


End file.
